Affairs of State
by Sarahaku
Summary: Johnathon Egbert is to find a suitable young woman to take as his queen at age sixteen. It has been decided for him that the young woman must be Alternian, in order to enact a sort of peace treaty through their marriage His job is to find and woo a lady at Prince Karkat's coming of age day festivities. But he's never followed plans, and neither has the Alternian Prince.
1. Chapter 1

"Prince," a servant murmured, giving the heir's shoulder a small rock. The prince mumbled something nonsensical, before curling up again, stretching and sitting up. He rubbed his eyes blearily, looking around before gathering his senses and remembering where he was. In his carriage, which bobbed up and down the sandy path. He peered out past the velvet curtains covering the horse-drawn cart, peering out at the unfamiliar landscape. An expanse of sandy deserts stretched beyond, but if he turned his head, he could see the large stone structures of a kingdom not too far off. A kingdom he'd never been required to visit. "You must change into your formal wear, my prince, we will be within Alternia within the hour. He nodded, straightening, and slipping on a vest, and then a dress coat, buttoning them up hastily and cramming a cravat into it, checking out the curtain every now and again. He smiled at his servant, a young maid who he had known most of his life. She smiled back, pushing her thick black hair behind her shoulders.

"Remember, there are going to be all sorts of ladies to impress, John!" She laughed, adjusting his coat, and nitpicking with his hair, which he had mussed up sleeping in the carriage overnight. "You must look your absolute best." He sighed.

"It isn't as though I'm that interested in having all sorts of ladies falling over themselves. And they definitely won't do so because my coat isn't wrinkled, Jade." She shook her head, sitting back.

"Still. Your father expects you to-,"

"I know. I know. It is always 'father expects me to.' And I am not exactly so keen on my own marriage being turned into a peace treaty!" He huffed, crossing his arms and reclining in his seat in the carriage. He glanced outside again. He'd never been to such a kingdom in his life, and Alternia already seemed exotic compared to his homeland, Skaia. His House Egbert was the ruling dynasty, which left him as the only heir to the throne.

He didn't keep up much with the politics of Alternia, but they had been a long time rival of Skaia, until the old queen had been overthrown and House Vantas had taken the throne. The two kingdoms sought a peace treaty, and marrying two of their royalty together would be the perfect opportunity to lower hostilities.

"Besides," he muttered, resting his head on his hand. "Shouldn't we be focusing more on the fact that it is their prince's coming of age day? Wouldn't it be rude to be more interested in his ladies than his festivities."

"Oh, come now, John, it's really all parties ever seem to be for. Meeting ladies and meeting gentlemen." He sighed.

"Of course," he snapped, right when the carriage pulled to an abrupt halt, making him grip onto his seat. Jade smiled, jumping out of the carriage nimbly and holding out a hand for him. He took it, stepping down, and looking around. They stood before a large wall, constructed of some sort of rough, grey stone. Towering above the wall was a large palace, made of similar stones, but many others, cobbling together to make some sort of random pattern. Alternian flags and sashes hung from it, along with the emblem of House Vantas, a crest bearing a large sort of sea monster.

With a sigh, he adjusted his coat. Skaian guards walked in front of him, bowing to the Alternian guards, before continuing on, John and Jade scurrying after them. "If anything," she murmured, with a small smile, "Consider this a break from your father." They laughed lightly, before continuing on.

The Alternian prince sat within the ballroom already. It was beginning to fill with people, who made glances over at him, but did not dare approach him until he was clearly ready to be approached. He sighed, adjusting and readjusting the stiff coat he'd been forced into hours ago. He was expected to welcome them, but it hardly made sense yet, considering how few people had come. He wasn't used to huge parties being throne like this in his honor. One one hand, it was only his fourth year as a prince, and secondly, his coming of age day was meant to rival all other celebrations he'd been throne yet.

His servant stood beside him, rattling off names of people who entered, and titles, all which he made a point of promptly forgetting. After a while, a band begun to play. He sighed, fidgeting in his spot and adjusting his coat over his shoulders.

Karkat had been born a peasant- and had remained that way the first twelve years of his life. It was his father's popularity as a revolutionary leader that got him a spot in the royal court. Four years later, he was still debating whether or not he wanted it.

Especially considering, today being his sixteenth birthday, the whole palace seemed eager to marry him off. He sighed, sitting back and refusing to make an asshole of himself yet, trying to speak publicly. Around the palace, he was allowed to speak in his normal dialect, using his normal language, but at these sort of gatherings he was expected to act like a prince.

It couldn't really matter that much. Everyone here was below him, they weren't about to make a scene if he made a mistake. The doors opened again, and his servant leaned over to speak to him.

"Johnathon Egbert, heir to the Skaian throne." Karkat looked across the room and the hoard of people escorting the young man. He swallowed. So much for everyone being below him.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, there was certainly no avoiding it at this point- the entire ballroom was just about packed to capacity. He scanned the room with pale grey eyes, frowning slightly. Finally, he sighed, jumping up to his feet in a way that was less than regal looking. He cleared his throat, straightening out his coat with fidgeting hands. It hardly took any time for attention to turn to him, and for it to fall silent. His nerves rose and he looked around, taking a long pause before remembering to sputter something out.

Shit, shit, _shit? _What was it he was planning upon saying? What should he say? He flashed a smile, bowing. "Thank you very much for coming," he tried. "I... hope you enjoy yourselves." Everyone smiled amicably and clapped. That was the worst welcome he could have possibly come up with. Defeated, he sat back down in his chair stationed at the front of the ballroom.

And of course, then came the crowd. People lined up to give him gifts. Wines from the Marquise, jewels from the duke, etcetera, etcetera He sighed, accepting them all with a false smile. It was better, at least, then having to walk around and entertain people. A practiced thank you and a word or two of small talk was easier to cope with than an entire conversation.

The line began to thin, dozens of useless presents later, gathering beside his throne. He looked up at the next guest. Karkat paused, then hastily staggered to his feet, stooping into a bow in front of the Skaian prince. "Prince Egbert," he said simply. Straightening up. John bowed and smiled, in a way that was much more practiced then Karkat's half-assed attempt at civilities.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance!" The other prince said. Karkat nodded, scanning him with a blank face. He had fair skin, and a mop of black hair that was slicked back into a neat part. He wore a long blue coat, which was adorned with gold buttons. He turned to the servant behind him, smiling at her and taking a box from her. He handed it to Karkat, who took it gingerly. It was covered with red velvet, small gems adorning the lip of the cover of the box. It was several feet long, so that Karkat had to sit down and place it in his lap to keep it steady while he opened it. "If it isn't to your liking, by all means, tell me so. I can get any sort of adjustments you like, or something brand new." Karkat nodded blankly, sliding the top of the box off. Whatever it was, it was wrapped in fabric. He gingerly pulled the lacy covering away, to reveal a sword.

It gleamed impressively. He lifted it up. The handle was adorned with gems, seemingly covered with some sort of animal skin. He carefully removed the sheath. The sword itself was made with black metal, small red gems lining it. It was curved, and appeared to be quite sharp. He spent a while looking it over, genuinely impressed by it. "Thank you very much," Karkat said quickly, tucking it back into the box, taking care to wrap it up. "Um... I hope you are enjoying the festivities."

John nodded once. "Oh yes, it is quite the gathering. I thank you for the invitation. I should hope you are enjoying it as much as the rest of us." Karkat paused, before nodding, which the opposite prince caught. A small smile played at the Skaian's lips, and he chuckled. "These sort of things can be quite stressful, hmm?"

Karkat paused, not sure if he should agree, then nodded slightly. "Yes, it's doing a number on my nerves, for sure." John nodded.

"Well, do try to enjoy yourself, at least." He smiled, then bowed, before hurrying away. "And a happy birthday to you!" He and his servant disappeared into the crowd.

Karkat watched him, before remembering the last few people whose gifts he was to accept, carefully setting the sword to the side of his throne, he accepted the gifts, though he was growing more and more tired of the whole thing. He looked up, and realized that that had been the last of them. With a small sigh, he pulled himself up. Time to socialize.

He remembered what Johnathon had said. "Try to enjoy yourself." Hmm. He looked around. Now how was he going to go about that?


End file.
